Johan Botha pleased with his new role as an all-rounder for the Rajasthan Royals
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Johan-Botha-c67173 is pleased to perform his role as an all-rounder for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
He was initially signed up as a bowler but was offered to bat at No.3 by his skipper, Shane Warne and Coach Jeremy Snape.
“They both approached me at the same time and we had a general chat and they said 'are you keen to do it?’” revealed Botha.
Taking it as a challenge, Botha expressed his pleasure at the opportunity. He added that the T20 game has a lot of glamour in it but one has to adapt to the game, keeping in mind the limited time and the need for quick runs.
"You have a few balls to have a look, the field is up at the start too, so you can get off to a bit of a flier and have 10, 15, or 20 runs before the field is spread out, so that makes quite a difference. Normally, when you come in at the end, it is a few
balls to go and one or two of the best bowlers on again, so that is not easy,” he explained.
Rajasthan Royals appeared in their first match of this season against the Deccan Chargers on April 9, 2011. The Chargers scored 137 runs in the allotted overs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals had lost their first wicket at 31 runs when Botha stepped up to his new role. He thrashed an unbeaten 67 off 47 balls aided with one six and eight fours, leading his side to victory by eight wickets.
Botha repeated the feat against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils on April 12, 2011 by punching an unbeaten 39 off 32 with two fours. Rajasthan ended up winning the match by six wickets.
He has played six matches in this edition of the IPL and has secured a batting spot in his team by scoring 189 runs at an excellent average of 94.50.
Botha has not allowed his bowling to suffer either. He opened the bowling attack for his team with positive results. His bowling has been praised by his national side as well, he is capable of bringing the run-rate down while picking up some crucial wickets.
He has taken five wickets in this IPL season at an average of 25.60 runs per wicket with best figures of 3 for 6.
Botha was brought down by a finger injury which kept him out of a few games and his side lost a couple of those. He came back to the field as soon as he recovered and Rajasthan Royals have won three back to back games since then.
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